Lost Memories and Enemies
by Lazerwolf314
Summary: Chuck wasnt always Chuck. He was Stone and he grew up with the flock. Now the CIA thinks the flock is working for the Ring and Chuck findsout that the CIA knew about the school and did nothing. Can Chuck protect the flock or will the Ring kill him first?
1. Chapter 1: The reveal

**So i don't own Chuck or Maximum Ride (do you think i would be sitting here if i did? Seriously)**

**Please no flames and enjoy!**

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Ages: (now)

Chuck: 28

Max, Fang, Iggy: 26

Nudge: 24

Gazzy: 20

Angel: 18

Chuck walked into Castle feeling completely happy. He and Sarah had made up (and everyone knew about it), Casey was back on the team (along with Morgan) and they had the director of the Ring in custody. Life was great.

A twitch in his back muscles reminded him that he needed to stretch his wings soon or they would be sore and painful for months. Yes, he had wings. He had had them ever since he was a baby.

Chuck had grown up at the school. He had spent the first twelve years of his life in that hellhole and he was grateful everyday that he had been free. He vaguely remembered six other bird-kids that had been kept with him. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel. They had escaped when he had been twelve. Jeb had left him behind. Chuck vowed that he would kill the bastard whenever he got the chance.

He had gotten out of the school a few weeks after Max and the others had been taken away by Jeb. Back then he had been called Stone. He had lived by himself for a few months, teaching himself how to fly and defend himself, but had then joined the Bartoski family. They thought that he was their long lost son and he had let them believe it, all though he knew he had been created in a test tube. His sister became Ellie and after a few years, he had left Itex and the school in the past. After a year or two, he had perfected a nerdy, geeky guy too hide what he was. He had been so far into it, he had actually started to believe himself no longer Stone, but just Chuck. But then the intersect had been forced into his brain (thank you so much Bryce Larken). Now he could use some of his strength and skills when sent on missions. That was something.

When the general's face appeared on one of the screens, he pulled himself from his memories. Sarah and Casey walked in from were they had been discussing Casey's reinstatement, and since Morgan was in the Buy More at the moment, Chuck pulled up a chair. Sarah shot a quick smile in Chuck's direction before facing the screen.

"Good day agents. We've just received more information on some people that have been spotted with numerous Ring agents these past months and we have discovered that the Ring has allied itself with a group called Itex…" The General continued to speak but a dull roar had filled Chuck's ears. Itex. And the Ring. An old enemy and a new one. Working together. Oh damn.

"Chuck, are you alright?" Sarah's voice cut through his thoughts like a laser. He glanced up and saw that everyone was staring at him. Sarah looked worried and the General was looking at him with faint irritation. Chuck waved his hand for them to continued and mumbled that he was o.k. Sarah searched his face for another moment before turning back to the screen.

"These six have been seen at many different locations around the globe, centered mostly around were many of the Itex buildings are." At this, the General pulled a photo up onto the monitor… and Chuck nearly fainted. He knew those faces. They were the only people he had trusted at all during the first 12 years of his life. They had grown up, but Chuck could tell who was who. There was Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel. The last time he had seen Angel was when she had been a year old and Jeb had been lifting her from her dog kennel. The picture was taken somewhere in the middle of a desert and the resolution was crappy but Chuck would never mistake who those people were.

Chuck was nearly unaware that he had leapt to his feet and was backing toward the stairs. He had to get out of there. All his memories came rushing back in a wave that he couldn't avoid. As he took one last look at the monitor, he flashed on something in the background. It was Jeb. He was standing talking on a cell phone, halfway hidden behind a clump of bushes.

The images that ran through Chuck's brain startled him. They included many open case files in the FBI, CIA and even the NSA. All agencies had suspected that Jeb had been experimenting on humans around sixteen years ago. There was files on sighting of experiments, autopsies of others and grainy pictures of labs. Then it hit Chuck. The CIA had known that there was a school creating and torturing experiments. And they had done nothing to stop it. Not a damn thing.

Bile rose in Chuck's throat and he fought it down. Now was not the time to lose it. He kept chanting that mantra in his head, but it did no good. Chuck turned and vomited into a nearby garbage can. Through the buzzing in his ears, he could hear the General demanding to know what was going on, Casey cursing and grunting in his own way and Sarah murmuring comforting words by his head. It was abruptly too much for Chuck and he dropped into a defensive crouch and let his wings out, ripping his shirt in the process.

The primaries (the big ones on the bottom) were a steel gray in color and it faded into black at the top. The undersides were a mix between brown and gray with large black streaks through them.

Since he had revealed his wings, the rest of his glamour, as he called it, dropped. He had no control over what he was doing either. Instead of an unmarked torso, it was crisscrossed with multiple scares from his time in the school.

Casey had drawn his gun instinctively but had frozen when he realized exactly what was on Chuck's back. Sarah's face was covered in horror as she stared at the scars that covered his body. She put a hand over her mouth and backed away from him, fear written over her face. That tore a little hole in his heart. He shoved the pain away. Beckman looked terrified and angry at the same time.

"General, it's time you knew the truth. Itex was the ones who did this to me. And I wasn't alone either. But the worst part is that the CIA knew what was going on in their labs. You knew, and you did nothing. I had to watch countless experiments die right in front of me for the first twelve years of my life. I went through unnamable tortures everyday. And the CIA did nothing because they were afraid of legal issues. If you think that you can get me to help take down the very experiments I lived with for twelve years, think again. I'm done with you. I'm done with all of you. Find another Intersect." With that Chuck turned, pulled up his glamour, folded his wings in tightly, so they melted into his back, and walked out of Castle. As he reached the first landing, without looking back, he pulled the gun that was hidden in the wait band of his jeans and let it fall to the floor. It clattered loudly in the silence and Sarah started up the stairs after him.

But Chuck bolted the rest of the way out and ran straight through Orange Orange. Thankfully there weren't many people inside at the time. He heard a shout from Casey behind him and pushed open the doors forcefully. When he was outside, not caring if anyone saw, he let out his wings and snapped then open. He took a running leap into the air and soared upward powerfully.

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**So whatcha think? Let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2: Recaptured

**Wow! I got like two reviews in the first two days! (yeah it was just two but i'm hyper at the moment...) Thankyou thankyou thankyou! I came up with this in about 20 minutes so ignore any spelling oopsies. I don't have a beta so ohwell.**

**So i wanna thank MadToTheBone1 and skibum for being my first reviewers. Yay you guys get a virtual cookie.**

**Disclaimer: Do i really have to do this again? Common, i live in the middle of freaking nowhere. I don't own anything.**

**Now, on with the story.**

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Switching POV's

Chuck spent the rest of the day flying around in circles. First he flew all the way to L.A, then to Washington and back. By the time it was dark out, he was exhausted. After allowing himself only short flights over the years, this had caused his muscles to ache and he tired easily. But he kept flying.

He had over ten messages from Sarah on his phone, six from Morgan and three from Casey. Even one from Beckman. He didn't reply to any of them, fearing that they would somehow find him and, at the same time, knowing it would be impossible to talk when he was in midair. Have you ever tried talking on the phone when you're flying at over a hundred miles an hour? It doesn't work.

He had known it was wrong to hide what he was for this long and now his life was falling down around his shoulders, and he had no idea what to do about it. After Sarah, Casey and Beckman had seen his wings, he had panicked, focusing only on getting out of Castle. He was still shaky about what he had found out. The CIA and NSA were basically his owners, thanks to the intersect but they had known about the school and the experiments they were doing. He also knew that they would never let him leave willingly. But he didn't want to be stared at like some kind of freak, or worse, experimented on again. Chuck shook his head in despair and headed home.

When he landed lightly on the roof of his apartment, he had to jump off the edge to get down. Thanks to his genetically enhanced limbs, he was fine. He tucked his wings in tightly, that way they would melt into his back, making him look exactly like the weak guy he was trying to pretend to be. He had learned how to do it only a few days after he had gotten out of the school. After Chuck folded his wings in, he pulled up his glamour, hiding the scars and making it look like he was wearing a shirt. He couldn't change his appearance completely, just hide his scars and frig with the colors of his clothes and such. Only once had he tried to look like some one else. He had woken up in the hospital, after being there for almost a week. He just wasn't powerful enough. Chuck didn't mind though. At least he could pass as human.

His eyes scanned Casey and Ellie's doors to make sure he wasn't being watched. He wasn't thankfully. As he turned his back to go into his apartment, he heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being cocked. Chuck raised his hands slowly and turned around as fast as he dared.

"Good to see ya birdboy!" A familiar voice called out from the other side of the courtyard. Chuck froze when he heard it. The last time he had heard the voice was when he had escaped the school. The owner of the voice was snarling furiously and unintelligibly at him as he was flying away from the school that had been in California. It was Loru. His old prison guard that was also an Eraser. Erasers are part human, part wolf and they were the school's guards. They would kill with or without orders or mercy. But Chuck had heard that the Erasers had all been retired years ago. Retired, meaning they were all dead. Why was Loru still alive?

As these thoughts ping-pong around his head, Chuck put on a brave face and tried to renew the familiar banter. "Right back at ya dogbreath!" He replied with fake cheer.

Loru's face twisted into a horrible snarl and his upper fangs grew a little and Chuck started praying that Ellie or Awesome wouldn't come outside to talk. It took a few seconds for Loru's face to return to normal. He obviously still had control issues. All Erasers did.

"So, how's life been treatin' ya their birdboy?" Loru asked with a cocky grin. In his slightly morphed hands, that looked more like hairy claws, he held the shotgun that was aimed directly at Chuck's head.

At that exact moment, Casey came charging out of his apartment. His gun was in his hand and it was also aimed at Chuck. "Bartoski! Don't move! What the-" Casey halted mid word when Loru pulled the trigger. The buckshot took out one of Chuck's windows, barely missing Casey's head. Casey froze then dropped his weapon reluctantly and another Eraser appeared from behind him and snatched it. It then held it directly against Casey's neck. The agent looked supremely pissed off; which was normal for him…

"Oh, Bartoski, I'm going to kill you." He growled.

Loru laughed. "Birdboy, way to go! Got the NSA pissed at you! Well, all we need now is for you to come with me." The Eraser snarled to last bit with pleasure. Casey was utterly shocked when the doglike man mentioned who he worked for. He turned and stared at Bartoski furiously, trying to figure out how this had all happened.

All this time, Chuck had been judging how much Casey would weigh and if he could lift him. Since Chuck was uberstrong, he could probably fly with Casey for a short while. The Eraser with the gun to Casey's neck was another problem.

"Now why would I do that?" Chuck demanded.

"Because if you don't, your girlfriend will die." With a pleased sneer on his face, Loru gestured to someone to come out from the shadows of the walkway. It was yet another Eraser and in its hairy paws, it held Sarah. Her eyes were glassy and they couldn't focus on anything but other then that she seemed fine. A growl sounded from deep in Chuck's chest as he stared at the partially morphed Eraser that held his love. Loru simply laughed.

"Very scary. You know that we will kill these two without mercy. We could even torture them for a while. You wouldn't want that now would you?"

Chuck knew that Loru was completely serious. He also knew there was no way he could kill the Eraser's before they either killed Casey or Sarah. His heart filled with hatred toward the Erasers and his head knew that it was over. "Fine. Where do I go?"

"Chuck NO!" Sarah was almost completely free from whatever drugs they had given her and she was now struggling against the grip of her captor. It was no use, but she never gave up.

Loru gave a sad snigger. He had whipped a tranq gun from his belt and shot Stone (**A/N: Stone=Chuck. That's the name Loru knew him as**) dead in the chest. Loru felt a twinge deep in his chest as he watched Stone fall to the ground with a thud. For the past seventeen years, Loru had been searching for Stone and it had ended by simply capturing the ones he cared about. It was sad. The Eraser forced the abnormal thoughts (for him) out of his head and focused on the job at hand.

Black lights danced in front of Chuck's eyes and the last thing he heard was Casey growling and Sarah screaming his name. Then he floated.

Sarah watched in horror as Chuck collapsed. She was frozen and didn't even react when one of the deformed men slammed a gun down on Casey's head. He went down like a tree. The one that had shot Chuck turned to her and said, "well, my pretty, this should be fun."

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	3. Chapter 3: Castle Breached

**THANK YOU so much Flamminghead, twilightsux0622 (love the name by the way), Wolfybaby, skibum and emotionalpoemgirl for reviewing! You guys freaking rock so much. Well here's the long awaited chapter. Hope you like and please review!**

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Previously:

_Sarah watched in horror as Chuck collapsed. She was frozen and didn't even react when one of the deformed men slammed a gun down on Casey's head. He went down like a tree. The one that had shot Chuck turned to her and said, "well, my pretty, this should be fun."_

Sarah POV

(_48 hours later_)

"We've sent out warnings to almost every government agency out there, but there's been no sign of Chuck anywhere." General Beckman spoke gravely. Sarah felt her insides freeze and her heart stop. She remembered vividly what had happened the night Chuck had been taken by the strange dog-men.

They had hauled his limp body to their waiting truck and had left Casey unconscious in the middle of the courtyard. The leader had smiled viciously at her before ordering one of the goons to hold her. Then two of the others had started to beat Chuck in the back of the truck. Sarah had been helpless to stop them, struggling uselessly against her captor's grip. Then something had slammed against the top of her head and the last thing she had seen was the truck holding Chuck driving away.

Sarah had woken up in Ellie's apartment. Apparently, minutes after the dog-men had driven away, Awesome and Ellie had come outside to investigate, only to find Casey and Sarah unconscious and bleeding. Sarah had managed to convince them that she was fine and had left as soon as Casey was awake. Ellie still didn't know that Chuck had been taken and she was clearly going crazy with worry, but there was nothing that Sarah could've told her. At least that's what the blond spy had been telling herself.

"Have there been any sightings of the truck?" Casey growled from his place.

"None. I'm afraid that Bartoski is completely off the radar." Beckman replied gravely.

"Could this have something to do with Bartoski's… special abilities?" Casey asked.

"We have no idea. And the vehicle that was seen taking Chuck has disappeared completely." Beckman answered.

"That can't be true! How can we lose one truck?" Sarah demanded, getting increasingly worked up.

"Easy Sarah. I'm sure Chuck can take care of himself." Morgan spoke up for the first time. Sarah shot him a glare that had him wilting in his seat. She barely resisted hurling something at the annoying Buy More employee. He didn't know the seriousness of the situation. And if he did, he was too dumb to realize it. Sarah had a fond affection for Morgan but he could get on anyone's nerves.

"I'm sure he can too, on a regular day. But this is Itex we're talking about and that's a different matter." A cool female voice spoke up from the shadows of Castle. Casey and Sarah both whirled instantly with weapons drawn and Morgan let out a shocked yelp and ducked under the table.

"Nudge." The woman murmured softly and Sarah's gun went flying from her hands. Casey's did too and he grunted in surprise. Both weapons flew into the grasp of a young twenty-year-old female with cocoa colored skin. Two other figures detached themselves from the shadows to stand on either side of the girl.

One was a tall woman that looked about 25 that had choppy brown hair and eyes. The man beside her was the same age from what Sarah could tell, with longish black hair and eyes so brown they were almost black. Each held themselves in a way that proved they had seen many battles and could defend themselves. With a jolt, Sarah realized that they were from the picture Chuck had flashed on 2 days ago. The ones that were rumored to be working with the Ring and Itex. From the gasp Sarah heard from Beckman and Casey shifting his weight uneasily, she could tell they recognized the three.

"What do you mean that Itex is different?" Sarah asked quietly.

The oldest girl ignored her and murmured to the girl that held the guns. "Nudge, go find Ig, and tell him that we're in. We'll be out soon." The dark skinned girl, Nudge, bounced up and down, with a look of anger on her face. "But Max! I want to check out their set up. See how far Itex got in and stuff. You know I can do it really quickly. Please, I just want-"

Max sighed and the man to the left of her lifted the corner of his mouth in amusement. He just nodded to Max when she looked at him.

"Fine." Sarah was completely and totally confused by the stranger's conversation. Nudge handed a weapon to each of the others and actually bounced over to the monitor that held Beckman's shocked face. She stopped, closed her eyes and placed her hands on the keyboard.

"Stay away from that! It's CIA property." Beckman cried furiously. At this, Morgan crawled out from under the table and stood staring at the girl. No one paid any attention to him. Sarah noticed that Max had handed the gun she held to the man, a look of revulsion on her face.

"Yeah, well the CIA's security sucks. I mean common, I got in less than 20 seconds last time. Is that right Max?" Nudge didn't look up from what she had started typing.

"Yep. I think that was a record for you Nudge." The man spoke up from his place against the wall. **(A/N: For those of you that haven't read Maximum Ride, Nudge has the ability to hack into any computer. Don't know how to explain so I'll just leave it at that.)**

"Okay, can we move on? We're here because Itex has an old friend of ours, who we've found out works with you guys and we need to get him away from the lab before they do anything permanent." Max murmured.

"You mean Chuck? How can he know you? I've been his best friend all his life and I've never seen you before." Morgan mumbled.

"Chuck… so that's what he goes by now? Hmm. Well I guess he got someone to frig with your memories. That make sense?" Max turned to the nameless man next to her.

"Unless he did it himself." He replied.

"What the hell are you two talking about? How could someone change another's memories?" Sarah demanded. Casey placed a warning hand on her shoulder when she stepped closer to the pair.

"Do you even know what Sto-Chuck is?" The man asked quietly. The sincerity of the man's question took Sarah by surprised. He sounded defensive but emotionless at the same time.

"A spy." Morgan piped up and before Sarah could do anything, Casey had smacked him upside the head and growled at him. Morgan shrank backwards in fear.

"So you don't know. Oh crap." Max whispered and Nudge suddenly burst out. "Yep, Itex got in. They only checked out Stone's file for an address and stuff and left almost no trace behind. I could follow it but we all know were it would end up." Nudge's voice was suddenly sober.

"Who the hell are you people?" Beckman snapped from her screen. Everyone whipped around to face her and they could see that she was spitting mad.

"We, General, are the people who are going to rescue Chuck from Itex."

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	4. Chapter 4: Past

**Thanks everyone for putting up with me and waiting for me to start writing. I had a major case of writers block, but I'm over it... so thanks again.**

Previously:

"_Who the hell are you people?" Beckman snapped from her screen. Everyone whipped around to face her and they could see that she was spitting mad._

"_We, General, are the people who are going to rescue Chuck from Itex."_

Sarah POV

"If you're going to do that, do you know who took him in the first place?" Beckman replied scathingly. As she spoke, she pulled up a photo of the men that had taken Chuck. The picture was grainy and dark, having been pulled from the security cams, but you could clearly make out the faces on it.

The reaction the strangers had to the photo was shocking. Nudge leapt away from the computer with a hiss and a look of fear on her face. She backed toward one of the walls and crouched, hissing and growling at the picture. Max sprang backwards and stood stiff and waiting, braced for an attack and the nameless man placed himself in front of her defensively. His face showed that he would murder the men in the picture. All of the strangers' faces held a mixture of fear, hatred and anger. That had definitely not been the reaction anyone had expected.

"How the hell is he still alive?" Max spat. She was practically vibrating with anger (or fear) and Sarah could see that her hands were clenching and unclenching into fists. "They were all killed 12 years ago!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she reopened her eyes and looked straight into Sarah's.

"If you do love Chuck, you're going to have to learn some pretty gruesome things about your government. Are you o.k. with that?"

Sarah paused. Then nodded resolutely. Beside her Casey did the same (after some internal deliberation) and Morgan murmured a quiet, "yep." Max looked surprised by Morgan and Casey's answer but she shook her head and started to speak.

"28 years ago, Itex created a lab called the school. Itex was one of the largest companies in the world. It created and manufactured anything from diapers to computer. It was basically in charge of the world. Then they started in genetic experimentation. They created hundreds, if not thousands of hybrids, ranging from almost any kind of DNA possible. Only about 4% of the experiments were viable and even less then that lived past their first year.

The two most common hybrids that survived were lupine-sapien and avain-sapien mixes. The wolf-humans were completely under Itex's control and they were the wardens, the torturers at the school. They were vicious and cruel, not caring about the pain that Itex created. Then there was us. The birdkids. Well, that's what we called ourselves. We figure that the school only managed to create about twenty of us. We've found almost everyone in the past few years.

Anyway, originally, there were four of us. Me, Fang, Iggy and Stone. Stone was two years older than the rest of us, but it was us four until we were about two. Then Nudge was made. After that, it was Gazzy then Angel. We don't know who many experiments before or after us but there are still some out there. From what we've found, all of us were born from human mothers, but the school managed to get avian DNA into us before we were even born. We grew up in the school, in hell.

Then a scientist that actually seemed to care snuck into the room where we were kept and took Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel and myself and he left Stone behind. We never knew what happened to him until a few weeks ago. We've been searching for his exact location nonstop ever since we heard he was alive. But the worst part of this story was that the government knew about these schools, about the experiments, about the pain we went through. And they did nothing. They wanted to use us for their own personal use. They wanted to use as weapons. So you'll have to excuse me if we don't automatically trust you, but we will do anything to get Stone…Chuck back from Itex." When Max was finished, Sarah felt tears in her eyes, Casey looked positively miserable, Morgan just looked shell-shocked and Beckman was weeping. Nudge had removed the photo of the men who had taken Chuck and was back to typing something into the computer. The man, who Sarah assumed was either Fang or Iggy, had relaxed a bit and was studying the layout of Castle. **(A/N: Sorry for the long explanation, but I needed for Sarah and them to know more about Chuck's past… ^.^)**

"You mean…. Chuck's a…. a-" Morgan trailed off.

Max narrowed her eyes. "A- what? What were you going to say? A freak? Or a miracle, or something along those lines? We've heard all before. And then some." Sighing, Max shrugged out of her jacket and Sarah froze when she extended her wings.

"Take a good look. I don't know if you've seen Chuck's, but these are my wings." They were beautiful, Sarah thought to herself. Along the top, they were a perfect blend of brown and speckled feathers and the primaries were a pure creamy white. Max folded them to her back after a few seconds.

"So, back to the point. We can save Chuck from Itex, but we need your support. As in weapons and backup. You alright with that?" Max asked quietly. Casey looked over at Sarah. Their eyes met and each understood that they would do whatever was needed to save their teammate.

"Yes." Sarah murmured.

Max nodded. Then she produced floors plans to the school and laid them out on the table.

**How did I do?**


	5. Chapter 5: Rescue

**Um, this is an update for Heartless-are-squirrels because they reviewed chapter 4. Well, here is a new chapter for ya! Enjoy, everyone (even the ones who don't actually comment. ^.^) Anyway, let me know what you think, if you can drum up energy to click the blue button at the bottom. (Don't mind me, I'm just hyper… and tired.)

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**Chuck POV

Chuck had been back with Itex for two and a half days. Well, that's how long he thought he had been here. When Chuck had first woken up, he had been a small, empty white room. As soon as he had managed to figure out which way was up, Loru and his gang of Eraser's had dragged him from his cell and into a testing room. Then he had been forced to fight for his life against a small army of rag-tag experiments.

The whispers he had heard when he was half unconscious still bounced like ping pongs around his brain.

"Amazing! It still has the ability to-"

"You say it had been living all these years? And in-"

"I can't wait to examine the brain tissue. Should be interesting after-"

"You can't touch him yet. You know what-"

Chuck was currently huddled into a ball in the corner of his room. It was freezing in there and all he had to wear were the jeans they had taken him in. After the first set of experiments, Chuck had quickly withdrawn his wings into his back as a final stand of defiance. The scientists had been shocked that he could do that and at first had been ecstatic with their findings. But when they realized that he wasn't going to let out his wings again, they had begun to torture him. Now, his chest and back was crisscrossed with deep slashes. Some of the cuts where half healed and others were still oozing blood.

He had flashed on about ten of the Itex workers here and each time, a sick feeling of betrayal rose in his throat. Each flash had been of a file from either the CIA or NSA, all running along the same lines. That the agencies had suspected that illegal experimentation had been going on, but they hadn't done anything. That, coupled with the torture and lack of rescue attempt, had completely destroyed Chuck's faith in the government. So now he was huddled in this small room, completely given up.

He doubted he could even trust Sarah anymore. He knew that she had had nothing to do with it, but deep down, he kept thinking, _she could've been part of this. _And he knew that things would never be the same.

A deafening alarm suddenly sounded and the room was bathed in an eerie red light. Chuck managed to sit up, but he was too exhausted and in too much pain to move any farther. He stared up at the ceiling where the alarm was coming from and watched as the red light spun around the room. He couldn't hear anything that was going outside, because of the soundproofed door, but he could guess it was chaos.

For a few moments, the alarm continued, before it was cut off and Chuck's room was plunged into darkness. He sighed and closed his eyes. All he could hope was that some poor experiment had managed to escape. Then the door snicked open and bright light flooded through.

He blinked in the sudden light and stared at the form standing in the doorway. He couldn't make out who it was, so he squinted.

"Found him!" The form yelled and it took a moment for him to place the voice.

"M-max?" He croaked. His voice came out as barely a whisper, so he cleared his throat and tried again.

"Yep. Hello Stone. Long-time no see." Chuck could finally make out Max's face and he could see that she was smirking, blood dripping from a cut on her brow. "You look like shit." She commented as she walked into his room. Chuck snorted weakly. Fang suddenly appeared in the doorway and they both began to help him to his feet.

"Wow, Stone, what the hell did you do to piss them off so much?" Fang asked as they guided Chuck from the room.

"Hid my wings." Chuck replied. The hallway was filled with smoke, and there was a body of a whitecoat a few feet from the door. Fang peered at his back and whistled softly. "Good job."

"Chuck!" Chuck lifted is head weakly in time to see Sarah ran down the hall, with Casey on her heels. Feeling a surge of revulsion, he reared backwards, pushing Max in front of him. He just couldn't be near her or Casey right now. Max stumbled then turned to look at him. He didn't say anything; just let his expression do all the talking. Max nodded then spoke in a low voice to Sarah.

"Whatever you do will make things worse. So don't come near." Sarah froze, her face covered with shock and hurt. Casey nearly bumped into her and he stared at Chuck, stunned by his wounds.

"Get me out of here." Chuck mumbled. He felt them begin to move, but closed his eyes and let Fang lead him down the halls. At one point, they met up with Nudge and Gazzy, then later Iggy and Angel, who guarded them as they walked cautiously through the heart of the lab. But Chuck didn't even bother opening his eyes to greet them. He was too exhausted and hurt.

It was only when fresh air hit him in the face, did he open his eyes. The first thing he saw was trees. Lots and lots of trees, spanning in every direction. Pine trees, maple trees, popular trees, etc.

"Where the hell are we?" He demanded.

"Upstate Washington. Somewhere near Seattle." Fang replied.

A SUV suddenly skidded up a small dirt road that was nearly concealed by the trees. Morgan hopped out of the driver's seat and ran forward. "Hurry! We gotta go!" He yelled. Chuck stopped moving, his feet rooted to the spot. He couldn't get in that car with them. He just couldn't. He opened his mouth to say something but Max beat him to the punch.

"Don't move." She murmured, turning to him and placing her hands on his chest. Chuck could hear Sarah suck in breath behind him and there was a lot of movement, but he didn't dare turn around to see what was going on. Something was happening between Max and him. A strange blue light was flowing from her hands and into his body. The wounds on his chest and back suddenly began to heal, closing and scabbing over, before nearly vanishing completely.

"What the?" He asked softly.

"I developed the ability to use energy how I want a few years ago. Pretty cool, huh?" Max smiled softly. Chuck simply nodded and stood tall. He flexed his muscles and discovered that he could move freely and with minimal pain. He allowed his mouth to form a smile for the first time sense his capture.

"Come on Chuck, we have to go!" Morgan yelled, completely unaware of what Max had just done. Chuck hesitated for only an instant.

Then he let his wings burst free from his back. He spread them wide and shook them out, closing his eyes at the rush as his feathers re-aligned and power and strength surged through him. He looked at Morgan and noticed that the small man's eyes looked they were going to pop out of his head.

"Nah. I'll go by myself." Chuck murmured and then launched himself into the air. He rose quickly into the sky, finally feeling free.


	6. Chapter 6: Healing

**Well... I was seriously considering ending this fic right here in this chapter. But then my muse went a little crazy and now I've got at least two more chapters planned. So thanks for the patients, support and reviews. And I promise to finish this eventually. Until then, please review and let me know what you think.**

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Chuck POV

Chuck didn't speak one word the entire flight. He flew a bit away from the flock and was slightly jealous of their bantering and easy conversation. He was also kind of in awe of how they flew so steadily and in tight formation. He attributed it to having been together for years. A new wave of pain rolled through him at that thought. He should've been with them growing up. Chuck vowed then and there, that he would kill Jeb for leaving him behind all those years ago if he ever saw the man again.

After a few long and quiet hours, they finally spotted L.A. Chuck was still in a small amount of pain, but it had mostly faded. Whatever the hell Max had done had certainly done the trick.

Suddenly, and in perfect synchrony, the flock veered to the right and dove. Stunned, Chuck floundered for a second before following. He understood when they landed on the roof of a very run down motel. They weren't taking him back home and at the moment, he was perfectly fine with that. Max turned to him and opened her mouth, about to explain, but he just shook his head. He had already clued in. She smiled at him and said, "Good to see you're still the brainy kid from the crate next to mine." He laughed softly and nodded.

The flock all leapt one by one onto a small balcony one story down. Chuck went last and nearly fell off the edge as he stumbled. Fang snagged his arm just as he was about to pitch over. "You're still a little weak aren't you?" Fang's black eyes stared straight at him and it was all Chuck could do not to bust up.

"Yeah. And you're still very creepy, you know that right?" Fang blinked then roared in laughter. Chuck joined in, and soon the whole flock was laughing and leaning on each other for support. Tears were streaming from all of their eyes and it took a long time for them to quiet. Even then, there would be the occasional chuckle that would pierce the silence.

"Common. We've got a room here and we should get inside before we attract any more attention." Max ordered firmly, but she was still smiling from ear to ear.

They went single file through the small window into an empty room. It was thread bare and grungy, but it sported two beds, a small t.v. set and a bathroom. Much better then anything at the school.

"We all can't stay here, but we figured you wouldn't be ready to go back to your place." Max murmured. "So, you can stay here with one or two of us and the rest will come back in the morning." Surprised and touched, Chuck looked at the faces of the people he considered his original family. Angel, the youngest and the girl Chuck remembered holding through the long nights at the school. She was now grown and stood tall, snapping gum and looking like a model. Gazzy, the boy with cow-licked hair and a whacked digestive system. He watched Chuck with a grin and still had that mischievous air about him. Nudge, the motor mouth and fashion critic, even when they had been in cages. She looked even more like a star then Angel and was bouncing from foot to foot as she struggled not to blurt everything that ran through her mind. But her hand was linked with Iggy's and she leaned against him whenever she wasn't bouncing. Iggy, the blind boy that could tell them all apart and had kept them together. His sightless eyes were only inches away from meeting Chuck's, but he stood straight and hugged Nudge close to him. Fang, the silent, dark haired boy that had rarely spoken but had been Chuck's best friend. He now had an arm around Max's waist and wasn't as expressionless as he had been. And Max, the leader, even when they had only been ten. With her head resting on Fang's shoulder, she didn't look like the sombre and sad ten year old Chuck remembered her to be.

"Wow. In all these years, no one has known me as well as you guys did. Thank you." Chuck's voice broke and he was instantly enveloped in a feathery flock hug. When they broke apart, Fang broke the watery silence by saying, "Well, someone should find him a shirt." This brought on a new wave of laughter. Chuck looked down at his chest and realized for the first time that nearly all of his scars had faded completely away and that there was no evidence that he had been captured two days ago. Max really had some serious mojo. But he finally felt at peace.

Iggy expertly tossed Chuck a black shirt that struck him full in the face. He pulled it over his head and was surprised to discover it fit perfectly. A guess ascertained that it was Fang's. "Oh, before I forget. Keep calling me Stone. It reminds me of who I really am." Chuck told the flock. They all studied him carefully before Angel hugged him and whispered in his ear. "You could never forget who you are."

Smiling down at the younger girl, Chuck murmured, "You never know. But it's good that you believe that." A wave of dizziness rolled over him and he knew he was close to crashing.

Chuck walked over to one of the beds and collapsed onto it. Exhaustion was finally taking its toll on his body and he could feel himself shutting down. "'Night." He mumbled through the pillow and his eyes gradually closed, leaving him in darkness. The last thing he heard was Fang telling Max that he would stay.

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_10 hours after the flock arrived in California. 4 hours since Casey, Sarah and Morgan returned from Washington State._

Sarah POV

Sarah anxiously paced around Chuck's apartment for about the sixty-seventh time. _Why wasn't he back yet? Would it take this long to… fly here? Where was he?_ She thought for about the seventy ninth time. She glanced at the door, her phone then back at the door. At that moment, someone nocked loudly.

She raced over; maybe Chuck didn't have his keys, and pulled it open. It was only Casey. "The nerd isn't back yet?" He growled, looking around the apartment. She simply shook her head and stepped back to let him in. A beeping from her cell, which had been tossed half-hazardly on the couch, caused her to leap for it.

Checking the display, her heart clenched as Chuck's face beamed out. She whipped the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Is this Agent Walker?" An almost familiar male voice asked. Sarah cocked her head as she tried desperately to place it. "Yes. Where's Chuck?"

"He's with us. Don't worry; he's fine. But don't look for us. He needs to recover." There was a pause but before Sarah could speak, the man continued. "He might never recover." He whispered softly. That's when Sarah remembered who he was. It was Fang, one of the bird-people like Chuck.

"What do you mean?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. Then, "If he wants to contact you, we won't stand in the way. But until then, any approach by you or any federal counter parts will be seen as a threat." Silence. Sarah sank to the floor, clutching the phone tightly; unseeing as she processed what had just been said. Then she began to cry.

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_2 days after Fang's conversation with Sarah._

Chuck stood on the roof of a skyscraper, stretching his wings luxuriously. Fang and Angel stood next to him as he watched the others whirl around the sky. He hadn't used his wings since he had crashed in the motel room. But now it was time. For the past two days, flashes would interrupt his thoughts for the strangest of reasons. Then there were the nightmares that plagued his dreams. Mostly, the worst were of Sarah coming after him with a tranquilizer gun and a cage. In and out of those dreams drifted parts of the files he had flashed on when he had been in the school. All in all, his trust in the government had been completely destroyed and he barely held onto what he felt for Sarah.

Deciding it was time; Chuck stepped forward and fell from the roof. Letting the wind rush past him, he freefell for as long as he dared, before snapping open his wings and soaring high into the clouds. Closing his eyes tight, he whirled in tight spirals, climbing higher where there was no fear of slamming into something. As soon as he started to feel dizzy due to the height, he opened his eyes and looked down. L.A had become a small splatter of black and grey buildings with no defining features. The flock was maybe two thousand feet below him, none of them wanted to venture as high as he was.

He tilted his wings and headed toward the outskirts of the city. Spotting his house as he descended, he paused when Fang flew up to him. "I know this is hard for you, but remember, we'll always be there for you." Behind him, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge and Angel where nodding in agreement. Max gave him a quick and awkward mid-air hug. Then they pulled back and resumed their lookouts from the sky.

Chuck shook his head and dove. Landing neatly on the roof, he instantly hid his wings before walking to the edge. He hopped down and landed lightly on the walkway. He stared at his door for a second, sent up a prayer that she would be there, and knocked.

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**Happy Holidays everyone and I will update soon.**

**~lazerwolf314**


	7. Chapter 7: True Home

**Well, here it is. The final chapter. I just wanted to say I loved writing this and thank you to everyone who faved and reviewed it. That meant so much to me. Anyway, enjoy.**

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_Chuck shook his head and dove. Landing neatly on the roof, he instantly hid his wings before walking to the edge. He hopped down and landed lightly on the walkway. He stared at his door for a second, sent up a prayer that she would be there, and knocked._

It was Awesome who answered the door. He stared at Chuck for seconds, mouth open, before jolting into motion and pulling Chuck through the door. Startled by his sudden moves, Chuck landed in a heap on the couch. There was a gasp from the kitchen and he angled his head to see Ellie gaping at him with a very broken looking Sarah at her side. He felt a pang of guilt, knowing he had been the one who had caused her pain.

"Uh, hi." He said, trying to regain some composure as he scrambled off the couch. Morgan suddenly appeared from down the hall, dropping his comic book as soon as he caught sight of Chuck. Chuck smiled weakly at everyone. He knew why he was here and what to do, but he couldn't bring himself to do it; not yet. Not after seeing the fragile look on Sarah's face and the stunned anger on Ellie. They were the two women he cared about most in the world and Morgan was his buddy and Awesome was just… Awesome. He didn't want to cause any more pain then he already had.

Ellie was the first to break. She rushed out from behind the counter and nearly tackled him with a hug. He felt hot tears on his shoulder as he pulled her close and felt some of his own surface in response. "Where were you?" Ellie asked, her voice trembling as she looked up at his face with red eyes.

"Thinking." Was all he could reply. It was clearly not the best response.

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Max and Fang crouched on the roof opposite of Chuck's house. They watched the scene in front of them sadly. Their friend was slowly destroying the family he had built after they had escaped. And the pain that they could virtually feel pulsing from their old flock mate was terrifying.

All this was because of the goddamn school. After getting out of the school, the flock had worried for Stone, but had been placed in the back of their minds. They had always assumed he had gotten free and was living on his own somewhere. They hadn't known he had actually found a family. And to learn years later that he was working with the CIA and NSA had been an even bigger shock. Fang had found documentation a few years back that both agencies had approved of their experimentation had ruined any trust the flock had had with the government. They hadn't hated Stone because they thought he knew and was just trying to do what he could with his life and the Intersect that had been forced into his head.

Then they had found out that he hadn't known and the school had recaptured. Max had tried to learn just what had happened there, but Stone had shot her down. All they knew was that his faith in his friends had been shattered; due to the torture or what he had learned from the flashes, they couldn't tell.

Eventually, Stone began to speak with Sarah. When the flock had rescued Stone, Max had seen just how much the blond agent had hurt for their flock mate. She could almost call it love. But the flock knew that he had lost all feeling and ties to his old life during the torture. Currently, Sarah had tears flowing freely down her face and looked like she was going to faint. She took a shaking step toward Stone when he said something else, but he turned and walked away. No one stopped him as he got to the door and left. With their enhanced hearing, Max and Fang couldn't hear any sound emerging from the apartment.

Stone shut the door quietly behind him and leaned heavily against it, eyes closed. He stayed there for a few moments, but Fang and Max made no move toward him. They could sense that he needed some time. He sighed and looked up at them. A faint smile played around the edges of his lips, but it faded quickly as he leapt up to them.

Landing neatly, he said, "Can we go?" His voice was strangely vulnerable and Max simply nodded, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Fang took off and circled, letting his mate help heal the hole in his friend.

They stood tall in synchronization and threw themselves off the roof. Stone easily caught the air in his wings and surged upward, Max holding back to give him space. They fell into a rough formation, flying away from the city. Flying away from Stone's old family to meet his true one.

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**The end. Hope you enjoyed.**


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